HP tops tablet market after fire sales

BARGAIN BUCKET TABLET MAKER HP is the biggest seller in the US, if you pretend that the Apple Ipad does not exist.

Numbers from NPD Research give the HP devices 17 per cent of a tablet market that shuns the Ipad, and puts it above Samsung as the market leader.

HP has two tablets on its roster, the Windows-based Slate and the Touchpad. Its increased market share could be down to the fact that it sold off its Touchpad tablets like they were yesterday's sandwiches. The firm slashed prices and passed on the price reductions to stores, which in turn passed them on to punters.

We have asked HP for comment on its position in the tablet charts, and NPD for more information on what tablets are covered in its study and how the HP share breaks down. The Slate is classified as a business device, says HP, and this survey comes from the NPD consumer research division.

Tablet sales accelerated throughout the year, according to the firm, and it is possible that this was helped by the larger number of devices released. Each quarter performed better than the last, said NPD, so by the third quarter sales were three times higher than in the first quarter.

"If you look at the tablet market without Apple there are a number of high-profile brands vying for that number two spot," said Stephen Baker, VP of industry analysis at NPD.

"According to NPD's Consumer Tracking Service, 76 percent of consumers who purchased a non-Apple tablet didn't even consider the iPad, an indication that a large group of consumers are looking for alternatives, and an opportunity for the rest of the market to grow their business."

NPD said that 1.2 million tablets were sold between January and October of this year, pulling in $415m in revenues. The top five brands are HP, 17 per cent, Samsung, 16 per cent, Asus with 10 per cent, and Motorola and Acer tied with nine per cent. µ